Premium
Confusion over land rights and development opportunities through communal titles in S abah, M alaysia
Author(s) -
Lunkapis Gaim James
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
asia pacific viewpoint
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.571
H-Index - 38
eISSN - 1467-8373
pISSN - 1360-7456
DOI - 10.1111/apv.12019
Subject(s) - confusion , state (computer science) , rhetoric , land tenure , political science , economic growth , public administration , sociology , geography , economics , agriculture , psychology , psychoanalysis , linguistics , philosophy , archaeology , algorithm , computer science
Confusion over land rights issues and opportunities created through communal titles may just be rhetoric to some, but for the poor rural communities, it is a matter of survival. As this paper reveals, this may be due to contradictory interpretations between native communities and state agencies of what constitutes native customary rights. The methods and materials used are based on case studies in the state of S abah, M alaysia with regard to the policies, programmes and projects that have been implemented in rural areas. This was made possible through interviews with key informants, textual analyses and state documents, and through observations of projects implemented in the rural areas of Sabah. Based on the information gathered, this paper reveals a worrying pattern of state and peoples' interactions over the provision of communal titles and state projects.